Saturday, October 12, 2013

Day 12: Hanging Clothes {31 Days of Easy Decluttering}

Welcome back to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! If you've missed any of the previous posts, there are links to all of them at the end of this post.

Today's Easy Decluttering Project

Today we're decluttering hanging clothes. This is one area in many homes that can become very overwhelming, because we have to deal with it on a daily basis. We waste time trying to find something because there are too many clothes hanging in the space and they're all packed tightly together. It makes it hard to hang clothes back up after cleaning them too.

But there's a saying that we wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time. I never thought about it before but I started to watch my own clothing habits and those of the rest of my family, and it's so true! We have our favourites and we wear them the most often. The rest of our closets are filled with clothes we rarely wear.

But it doesn't make sense to keep all those clothes we hardly ever wear if it makes our day-to-day lives more overwhelming! It's so much better to look in a less cluttered closet and feel peaceful when choosing what we want to wear. Nicer way to start a day, don't you think?!

OK, so choose any closet in your home and go through the hanging clothing today!

Easy Decluttering Steps

Throughout the series, you'll follow these steps to complete each daily task. {Don't forget to take before and after pictures to share too!}

Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don't get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning. Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you're doing this step, but don't get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month. We're focused on decluttering!

Purging Tips for Your Hanging Clothes

Follow the steps listed above, and use these tips as you purge (step #5) your hanging clothing:

Toss any clothes that are worn out or torn

Relocate any hanging clothing that doesn't belong in the closet you're purging

Give away clothes that need to be repaired unless you're going to repair them today (most people's mending pile never gets dealt with and becomes clutter)

Donate all clothing items that you know don't fit (just by looking at them - don't worry about trying things on if you want to finish this task in 10-15 minutes)

Give away any items of clothing you haven't worn in the last 6 months (or 12 if you have all your seasonal clothing together)

Donate all clothing you don't love

Give away all clothing you don't feel great in

Donate any clothing items that you have multiples of, unless you wear all of them regularly

And, once you've decluttered your hanging clothing, the best way to keep that area decluttered is to follow the one-in-one-out rule. Each time you add a new item in your closet, find another one to give away!

Pictures and Links to Inspire You

Here are great tips to help you declutter your clothes (and there's even a free printable you can hang in your closet to help you keep it decluttered!)

If you're not sure how long it's been since you've worn an article of clothing, use the reverse hanger trick. It really works! Here's Peter Walsh to talk about it {lots of great tips in the video, but skip ahead to 7:21 for this particular trick}

Peter Walsh

[Update - this video has been taken down and I can't find another one right now, but here's a link with a description of the hanger trick from Oprah.com. If anyone knows of a video of Peter demonstrating the hanger trick please let me know!]

If you're worried you won't have enough to wear after you declutter all these clothes, consider having a clothing swap. That way you'll get rid of all the clothes you don't need, use, or love, and you'll gain a few "new" things. Just don't pick up too many clothing items or you'll still have a cluttered closet! Here's a post from Oprah to help you host a clothing swap.

*Please pin from the original source if you choose to pin these pictures. If you want to pin this post please use the button at the top.

If You're On A Roll...

You can tackle more than one closet today.

Or you can do more than a visual check of what fits and what doesn't, by actually trying on all your clothes. You'd be surprised how many articles of clothing you think fit you but they really don't fit "just right".

Good luck with today's decluttering project! I'd love to hear how you did, so please leave a comment below, or on Facebook, Google+, or Pinterest!

Don't forget to share your pictures in the Facebook post for today or use the hashtag #31DaysEasyDecluttering when you pin your pictures. I'll repin some of my favourites. Plus don't forget I'll have a link party at the end of the series where you can share your photos too!

How many items of clothing did you declutter today? How do you organize your hanging clothes to keep the clutter at bay? Any purging tips I missed?

I love hearing from my readers! This is a great place to ask questions, answer questions, and share your organizing tips. Thank you so much for commenting! I look forward to getting to know you better :)

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